Beekeepers protest over deadly parasite that has killed 2billion bees in ONE year

Two billion honey bees died last year after being struck by an infestation that is devastating hives across the country, according to a study.

The crisis is so severe that England could run out of home-produced honey by Christmas.

Beekeepers say one in three colonies has been killed off since last autumn by the deadly varroa mite, at a cost to the economy of £54million.

Swarming: Beekeepers outside Parliament, where they were calling for more research into the pest that has killed off a third of England's bee colonies

Today, hundreds of beekeepers marched on Downing Street calling for more funding to investigate the disaster which is also threatening fruit and vegetable growers.

Tim Lovett, president of the British Beekeepers’ Association, said: ‘The increased funding we are asking for is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions of pounds the Government has found for bank bail-outs.

Hundreds of beekeepers marched through the centre of London demanding funding for research into the diseases that are also threatening fruit and veg growers

‘Bees are probably one of the most economically useful creatures on earth, pollinating a third of all we eat.

'They provide more than 50 per cent of pollination of wild plants on which birds and mammals depend. We must identify what is killing them, and that means research.’

The Varroa mite, a parasite which weakens colonies and makes them more vulnerable to disease

Numbers have been falling for years because of parasites and diseases. But experts fear worse devastation is to come if Britain is hit by Colony Collapse Disorder – a phenomenon which has wiped out colonies in America and has reached France and Germany.

Hives hit by the condition lose all their worker bees. Scientists have yet to explain its cause, although some blame disease, pollution, pesticides and even GM crops.

A survey by the BBKA found that 90,000 of the 274,000 hives in the UK – each containing around 20,000 bees – did not survive last winter and spring. It is feared another two billion could be wiped out this winter.

UK hives have been hit by the varroa mite, which feeds on the blood of developing and adult bees, making them more vulnerable to disease.

Recent wet summers have also been disastrous for population levels.

The BBKA wants the Government to increase its spending on research from £200,000 a year to £1.6million.

It says the figure is less than 1 per cent of the £825million that bees bring to farming by pollinating crops.

Conservative Agriculture spokesman Bill Wiggin said: ‘Government investment in bee research should reflect its importance to our rural economy, food production and biodiversity, not become some kind of peripheral issue.

‘If Defra cut back on frivolous spending like the £364,000 it spent on taxis last year, then they would have the money to spend on this research on bee health.’

Campaigners march through the centre of London to call for more funding for research on bee health

National Farmers Union vice president Paul Temple said: ‘Our bee farmers and beekeepers are the custodians of every single honey bee in our countryside, and they are facing devastating bee health problems.

‘To solve these problems we need comprehensive and coordinated research to be undertaken urgently.’ Rowse Honey, a UK honey company, has warned English honey supplies will run out by Christmas.

The varroa mite first appeared in Asia. It reached the UK in 1992 and now infests 95 per cent of hives. Untreated colonies die in three to four years.

Even minor mite infestations can lower honey production and make bees more vulnerable to disease.